Handmade Christmas Ornaments

A month or so ago I was talking about a Handmade Christmas. I was finally able to follow through with some of my plans and start working on a few things this weekend. I had pre-cut the burlap and drawn out each design for each of the ornaments. I just did not have the opportunity to paint them until this weekend. I decided to use Tulip's Puffy T-Shirt paint and it worked perfectly! Here is a few samples of how they look so far. Please remember that I want to add wire and ribbon to each of them.

I love the way they look so far and cannot wait to put the finishing touches on each of them. I think they will make our tree even more special. I plan on letting the boys paint a few Tuesday night while I work on the ribbon and wire for the ones that are dry so far.

Scott and I started decorating for Christmas this weekend. I know it is about a week early, but we will be out of town all week and weekend long, so we wanted to get a jump start on things. The boys will help me put the finishing touches on our living room Tuesday night. We will turn on our outside lights as well. Scott spent most of the day, Saturday, hanging lights on our house, trees, bushes, etc. I let him "at it" and he did a wonderful job. He would like to be called Clark Griswold.....lol! He even made me do a drum role for the preview! I can't wait for the boys to see everything. They will be so excited.

Here is a picture of our mantle. It is not quite finished, but is coming together quite nicely.

 

The last picture is something that I picked up at an old barn sale. I picked up two with the thoughts of turning them into unique picture frames. I decided that we would use them to frame in our mantle for Christmas first. I added a little festive fabric and a burlap ornament to each of them to tie in our Christmas tree. I think they turned out great! I love antique stores. You can always find the most interesting things.

Two Precious Families

This past weekend, I was able to "shoot" two precious families. I love that I am starting to get back into photography. I have been able to learn so much from my editing software and from my camera. I have to admit that Pinterest has helped me learn a lot about my camera. I have pinned several blog posts that teach you all you need to know about your camera. Here is a preview of the pictures from this past weekend. Please let me know what you think. Your honest opinion will only help me learn and grow.

Dabbing Into Photography Again!

This past week, I took family pictures of a friend and her family. It was nice to dust off the old camera again as it has been quite sometime since I have taken pictures of someone other than my family. I was happy with the way the photo shoot went. Leslie and her family were a lot of fun to hang out with and shoot. Taking the pictures is the fun, easy part. Then comes the harder part, the editing. I am too critical of myself and I do not have enough confidence to really think they are good enough, though I have been told otherwise. I would love to know what you think.Please excuse the photography label on each. I am still working on creating one that I love.

 

 

Our Precious Boys

A local photographer took pictures of the boys recently and did a wonderful job. She also took our wedding pictures and we could not have been any happier with how they turned out. We love Missy and her work! Here is a sample of the pictures she took.

Home Construction

Scott and I bought a house recently and have been working on getting settled in and making it our own. Since we are having company this weekend, I have been in the mood to do a few more renovations. However, I have not actually completed any one project. I did make a few decisions about our kitchen and I am very excited to get started. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until our company leaves, as it will take a week to complete everything and then I will have to repaint the walls. Lovely, I know. I honestly can say that I hate painting but I hate paying someone to do something I am more than capable of doing even more than I hate the actual task. Here is a picture of our hideously decorated kitchen.

 The left is what the kitchen looked like before we moved in and the right is what it looks like now. I chose this color and I hate it, but I did not want to repaint until I picked out new counter tops, cabinets, and a back splash. We have decided to use one of the counter top transformation kits from Lowe's. I have read great reviews about them and for $70 we should have the look of marble. I think for the price, it is worth the gamble. Yesterday, after work, I went to Lowe's to look at different back splash options and I think I have decided to use Fasade. It gives you the look of tin for 1/10 of the cost. I priced what it would cost to use the real stuff yesterday and the quote I was give was nearly $1000. For $220 I can use the "off" Brand and will be happy to spend my savings elsewhere. The cabinets are not completely hideous and I honestly think with the new counter tops and back splash, they will fit in quite nicely. Well, nice enough that I can live with anyway! I may spruce them up with new hardware that coordinates with the new counter tops and back splash.

The flooring in our house is another matter all together. I hate it and I would like to rip up everything and stain the concrete until we can spend $10,000 to replace everything with hand carved hard wood flooring. Our house has a lot of square footage and to replace the flooring as I think it should be done, it will cost a pretty penny to purchase and install the beautiful wood. Therefore, Scott and I are several tax returns away from getting what we want. In the mean time, I would like to make everything more bearable with stained concrete. I love the look of it and I have read that it is not too difficult to do yourself. Scott has agreed to let me do this in our kitchen, but I think I will wait until the back splash, counter tops and walls are complete that way I will not have to worry with drop cloths.

I will keep everyone posted with pictures of our progress. I know that owning a house means constant upgrades, renovations, work, etc. I just need to really believe that they do not have to happen over night.

Weekend Fun

Scott, the boys and I did not get around to doing anything crafty this weekend. Instead we invited my parents over for a bonfire Friday night. We have been wanting to have one for quite some time now, but the weather has not been cooperative. Friday night was the perfect time as it was a clear, cool night. Scott, Dad, and the boys built the fire, while Mom and I cooked in the kitchen. After dinner, we roasted s'mores on the bonfire. It was a wonderful time with family and a good change from our typical Friday nights.

Saturday, Scott took me on a date to the Louisiana Tech game and to eat at my favorite restaurant in Ruston, The Dawghouse. It was a lot of fun and very different from dinner and movie which is what we typically do on our date nights. I graduated from Louisiana Tech in 2008 and I have not been to a football game since. I know, I should be ashamed! It was a lot of fun and brought back fond memories being back on campus. Tech won, which added to all of the excitement. At one point, they led 70-21!

 I was able to work on the house a little as well. Next weekend we are having a lot of family over, so I thought it was time to work on the house again. I think we have been a little burned out lately so this party is good motivation. Here is a picture above our bed. The "M" was used as the guestbook at our wedding.

There are a lot of things I still would like to do to the house, but I am sure it will always be that way. Hopefully i will be able to upgrade our counter tops before Saturday. Wish me luck!

Christmas

I know, I know, Christmas is still several months away. However, I think it is best to be prepared for what can be the craziest time of year. I like to have all of my shopping done in advance, have all of my t's crossed and i's dotted so that my family and I can really enjoy the true spirit and meaning of Christmas without getting wrapped up in all of the chaos. This year I plan on making Christmas as homemade as possible. On Christmas Eve last year, the boys and I made ornaments. We plan on making more this year as I hope to continue this little tradition throughout the years to come. I do not want to stop with the Christmas tree. I want our Christmas wreath, mantle decor, wall decor, Christmas Cards and gift wrapping to be handmade as well. In order to accomplish all of this, my little family needs to start now. It is fun working on a project each week for what I like to call "Family Craft Night". This weeks craft will be monogrammed burlap ornaments. I already have the burlap as I have scraps left over from our wedding, but I will need a few more items to go along with this project. So, Hobby Lobby & Michales, here I come. I know I could get everything I need at one store, but I prefer to shop sales and I know where I can get different things for better prices.

Hobby Lobby List:
Fabric Puff Paint in Green Red, Gold & Black
Brown Wire

Michael's List: 
Ribbon
Buttons in Red, Green, Brown, White & Black 

I have started working on the burlap "M" Monogramming. The boys, Scott and I will trace over it with the colored puff paint to make it really stand out from the brown burlap. I want the colors to pop! I plan on making Peace, Hope, Faith, and Love ornaments as well, using the same concept.

This is just the beginning, so please do not judge the draft. I will upload more pictures after "Family Craft Night" this weekend.